Improvement in apparatus for loading- wood on railway cars



JESSE Nronotson; o r lincurrenLLo, INDIANA.

Letters Paten-t No. 106,274, dated August 9, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS `IEOIR LOADING- WOOD ON RAILWAY CARS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the s ame.

Tu 'whoml it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEssE NICHOLSON, of Monticello, White county, Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Loading Wood on Railway Gars; vand I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the saine, reference being had to the drawing which accompanies this specification, forming a part of the same, and to the-letters of reference marked upon the same.

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved apparatns.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the hinged woodrack for lifting and moving the wood.

Figure 3 is -a vert-ical sectional view of the woodrack, showing its hinged connections audits manner of opening and closing, in dotted lines.

Like letters refer to like parts.

To enable those skilled in the art to construct and use my said invention, I will proceed to describe the sanne.

In the drawing- A A A, iig. 1, represent the timbers of a rectilinear frame, constructed over the track of an ordinary railway, of suitable height and width, and properly secured in a convenient location.

Across the top ofthe frame is placed a cross-piece, I, to which is secured 'one end ot' a line or rope, E, and at the opposite end of the frame is placed a lixed friction-roller, J', over which the rope E passes, extending down between the posts on that'side of the frame to a windlass, I, over which the rope E passes, and by which it is operated.

A running pulley-block, D, is placed upon the rope E between the bearings I and J, traversing the long way of the frame as it is operated by the guy-rope F and `its own weight.

The wood-rack C is hung to the pulley-'block D by suitable devices, and is constructed lof two square frames of the requisite size, which form the ends of the rack, and connected on the top by parallel bars properly secured, to'which the devices secured tothe pulley-block are attached, and by which the woodrack is raised and lowered.

Attached togeach lower corner of the` flame of the wood-rackare hinged sections, which form the bottom of the rack, and which are secured in the center to crossvieads, which are attached toa movable horizontal rod resting in bearings a a,suspended from the top center of th-e framing. Y

Each of these bearings is provided with two short rods, which are hinged toits corners, and, when in position, rest upon suitable notches in the cross-heads ot' the horizontal rod G.

Each of the hinged sections a a of the bottom is i provided with suitable hooks at their inner ends, which fasten to the short rods c c, and are by these devices held in position while the wood-rack is being held and loaded and moved.

A chain or linked rod, K, is attached to the crosspiece K of the framing, at one end, and to the movable horizontal rod G at the other end, and its length is so adjusted as that, when the filled wood-rack swings toward the car or tender to be loaded, the said rod G is drawn from its bearings by the momentum of the .wood-rack, and all the hinged sections of the bottoni being thus simultaneously released, the contents of the wood-rack are instantly deposited in thespot desired.

By a forked brace, attached to a similar device at thev top ofthe wood-rack, which has a line or cord secured to it, passing over the friction-roller G, and secured to a windlass, G, the wood-rack is withdrawn to its place, and ready to be refilled.

Immediately under the windlass H, and attachedto the sill of the framing, is a snatch-block, L.

Through this snatch-block passes a rope, M, one end of which is coiled around the windlass H in acontrary direction from that of the rope E, and to its opposite end is secured a stirrnp, N. rIhis stirrup N is constructed with a friction-roller upon the front har, to lallow it to pass easily Vnp or down a post or stainlard, with which the pilot'or cow-catcherof any locomotive-engine may be provided.

The central circumference of the windlass H is provided with teeth or cogs, into which works the stop O, which is secured to the lever P, and operated by it to release or hold the windlass H, as may be required.

Alongside ofthe railway track, and at a convenient point, is placed a post, R, provided with an oblique brace, reaching from the top of the post to the ground, in the form of an inclined plane.

Attached to the post R, by a pin or bolt at the bottom, upon which it mayswing, is a stop or trigger, fl, the top part of which is notched to receive and release the rope, as desired.

It will be seen that the object of my invention is to provide that the wood used as fuel by locomotive-engines upon railways shall be raised from any given point upon the side ofthe track, and deposited within and upon the tender by means of the motion of the engine as it reaches the station.

' lts operation is as follows:

The wood-rack heilig filled, and the parts of the apparatus all arranged and constructed as herein described, the stirrup N .is dropped over a suitable standard or other arrangement upon the engine as it approaches the point opposite the wood-rack. rIlhe rope M is thus drawn through the snatch-block L, causing the winalass H to revolve, 'raising the wood-rackby means of the rope E, and, the pulley-block D descendv ing, the saule carries the wood-rack far enough to reach the tender ofthe locomotive, and to remove the horizontal rod G from its bearings, whereupon the hinged sections of the bottom of the wood-rack drop, and the woodis released. Simultaneously with this the rope M is carried up on the inclined plane S, until reaching the trigger 'l, when it raises the stirrup N to a suiicient height to release it from thefeugine.

By turning the windlass G the guy-rope attached to the wood-rack brings it back to its properposition for loading, and by raising the stop attached to the lever P, the wood-rack descends, by its own Weight, ready for relling.

Having thus fully described my said invention,

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. TheA suspended wood-rack C, when constructed with hinged bottom boards a a, the inner ends of which are supported, in the manner substantially as shown and described, upon cross-heads of a sliding bar, G, resting in hangers a' a', the parts operating substantially as set forth.

.2. The combination ofthe wood-rack C, constructed as described, pulley-block D, rope E, windlass H, and hain K, all arranged to operate substantially as set orth.

3. The combination of the wiudlass H, rope' M, snatch-block'L, stirrup N, inclined plane S, and trigger T, all arranged to operate as herein described.

' JESSE NICHOLSON.

Witnesses:

WM. T. DENNIS, WM. H. PAREDS. 

